Electric Cars

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt

    Just how do you advertise a plug-in car like the 2012 Chevrolet Volt? In the two years since advertising for General Motors’ first plug-in hybrid started, GM has tried a whole bunch of different tactics. Sadly, to date, very few have been successful, focusing on why you should want a Chevy Volt rather than why you’ll want one. Now it seems GM has taken a leaf out of the Apple school of advertising, launching a series of ads which focus on real-life owners who have made the switch to electricity. They are, it says, the happiest car owners on the planet. Filmed in an all-white photo...

  • Nissan Leaf: Lost Battery Capacity
    2011 Nissan Leaf Battery Capacity Loss: Nissan Responds

    Just under a month ago, we reported a few cases in which owners of 2011 Nissan Leafs had noticed the first of twelve lights on their car’s battery capacity gauge had switched off, indicating a marked deterioration in battery capacity after just one year. Now Nissan has released an official...

  • 2011 Saab PhoeniX Concept
    Chinese-Japanese Group To Turn Saab Into Electric-Car Brand

    Last December Saab fans all around the world received the grim news their beloved brand was filing for bankruptcy, despite the best attempts of its then-owner, Swedish Automobile, to find a buyer interested in paying off all of Saab’s outstanding debts and investing in new products. Since...

  • Eaton technologies test day, Marshall, Michigan, Sept 2010
    Job Training For Returning Vets: Installing Electric-Car Chargers

    Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation, whose automotive business makes superchargers and many other parts, also supplies electric-car charging stations. Under a recent Federal contract, Eaton will provide those charging stations to various Federal locations--and the company is also working to...

  • BMW i3 Concept MkII
    First BMW i Store Opens in London, i3 Concept Gets New Interior

    If you’ve ever visited central London in England and visited its famous Hyde Park, the chances are you’ve also seen one of BMW’s most prestigious showrooms, located along the highly-expensive and exclusive Park Lane. Now, weeks ahead of the BMW-sponsored 2012 London Olympic games...

  • 2012 Mitsubishi i  -  First Drive, U.S.-spec MiEV
    Consumer Reports Hates 2012 Mitsubishi I’s Range: Is It Right?

    Mitsubishi’s tiny egg-shaped electric car known as the 2012 Mitsubishi i is currently the cheapest electric car you can buy in the U.S. Starting at $29,125 before incentives, the 2012 Mitsubishi i features seating for four adults, a 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and an EPA-approved range of...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test

    Talk to any electric car owner, and it’s likely they’ll tell you how little money they spend on running their plug-in car. For them, the switch to electric pays dividends in saved gas bills, but in Japan, a new scheme by Nissan takes it one step further, allowing electric car drivers to earn CO2 credits which help fund more electric car charging stations and conserve the environment. Nissan’s Zero Emissions Fund, run in conjunction with the Green Investment Promotion Organization and certified by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, uses Nissan’s...

  • Rotary engine
    Hydrogen, Rotary Range-Extender For Mazda Electric Cars?

    Rotary engines aren't known for their green credentials, but if Mazda's latest plans come to fruition, they may be granted another lease of life. Most frequently seen in Mazda's sports cars over the years, Wankel rotary engines are associated variously with ultra-smooth power, poor fuel economy...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    A123: New Li-Ion Cell Performs Fine In High, Low Temperatures

    It's been a rough year for lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, but the Massachusetts company is forging ahead. This morning, it introduced a new battery technology it calls Nanophosphate EXT, which A123 says can operate at extreme temperatures without requiring the degree of heating or cooling...

  • Abu Dhabi to Dubai electric Superbus
    Superbus Electric 'Sports Bus' Now Road Legal, Ready For UAE

    Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Superbus! Buses aren't normally the most exciting method of transport. Though popular in Europe, in the U.S. they're more often regarded as something to be avoided at all costs. Maybe we'd be more keen to ride the bus if it was a Superbus? It looks hugely cool...

  • Eaton CHAdeMO DC quick charging station, Mitsubishi headquarters, Cypress, CA
    Bigger Batteries Key To Better Quick Charging For Electric Cars

    To help make electric cars more palatable for long-distance driving, the 2012 Nissan Leaf SL and 2012 Mitsubishi i can be rapid-charged from empty to 80 percent full in around 30 minutes using specially-designed Chademo rapid charge stations. For those using them, rapid charge stations provide a...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt plugged into Coulomb Technologies 240V wall charging unit
    Volt Owners: Here’s Why Your Delayed Charging Failed

    this problem as resulting from high frequency ground currents

  • TMG EV P0002

    This year’s annual Pikes Peak hill climb is shaping up to be something pretty spectacular for electric vehicle fans. After last year’s race, which saw the all-electric Yokohama HER-02 set a new course with a time of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, we’ve seen official entries already tendered for 2012 from Mitsubishi, Monster Tajima and independents EVWest. Now Toyota has announced it too will enter an electric car into the iconic race as part of a joint project with Japanese company RK1, Inc. Meet TMG EV P002, the identical twin of the Toyota PV001 EV electric racing car which...

  • 2011 Audi A2 Concept
    Reports Of Pruned EV Plans At Audi Off The Mark, Says Exec

    Earlier this week a report from the UK’s CAR suggested that Audi had nixed production plans for an electric city car based on its A2 concept. In addition to this, the report went on to claim that plans for a production version of the smaller A1 e-tron concept were also being putting on the...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    Penske Automotive Signs To Become 2012 Fisker Karma Dealer

    Yesterday, Fisker Automotive, makers of the super-sexy 2012 Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, announced that it had just signed its 80th independent dealer. But Fisker’s 80th dealer, Fisker of Scottsdale, Arizona, isn’t owned by a local independent dealer chain. It’s owned by...

  • Tesla Motors gallery in Houston Galleria, opened October 2011, with Model S on display
    Tesla Faces Dealer Opposition To Opening New Store In MA

    This week has been a pretty good one for Californian automaker Tesla: it has shipped its first two production 2012 Model S sedans, announced a 45-day tour, and even sold out of its 2013 Model S Signature Edition sedans. But in Massachusetts, the luxury car maker faces an uphill struggle to open a...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf Taxi in Sao Paulo
    2012 Nissan Leaf Becomes A Taxi In Sao Paulo City

    It’s the largest city in Brazil, and the world’s seventh largest city by population, but now Sao Paulo can claim another first: it’s one of the few cities in the world where you can hail a Nissan Leaf electric taxi cab. Part of a pilot program between Sao Paul Municipality, the...

  • 2009 Audi R8 E-Tron Concept
    Audi R8 e-tron Spy Video: All-Electric Supercar On The Road!

    Later this year Audi will start selling its first model to bear an “e-tron” badge, the eagerly anticipated R8 e-tron all-electric supercar. A prototype of the car was recently spotted at the Nürburgring race track in Germany and our sister site Motor Authority has just posted a...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt

    It may be hard to imagine, but the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car is about to enter its third model year. The new 2013 Chevrolet Volt will offer a slightly higher all-electric range, up from 35 to 38 miles. Its base price of $39,995 will not change. Next year's Volt will also receive a higher EPA efficiency rating, from 94 to 98 MPGe, or Miles Per Gallon Equivalent--a measure of how far the vehicle can travel on electricity with the energy content of 1 gallon of gasoline. The 2013 Volt will be fitted with a battery pack that holds slightly more energy--up from 16 to 16.5...

  • ZAP Xebra Sedan
    2008 Zap Xebra Electric Motorcycle Recalled (Again)

    Back in 2009, we told you about the official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall of the 2008 Zap Xebra three-wheeled electric motorcycle. At the time, the NHTSA said the recall was to rectify an excessively long braking distance, which U.S. electric vehicle vendor Zap and the...

  • BYD e6
    BYD, China's Electric-Car Star, Faces Steeper Challenges

    Chinese carmaker BYD is facing tough times ahead, following reports that its stock has fallen 43 percent since its February high. As China's figurehead for electric vehicles, BYD is best-known in the U.S. for its e6 electric crossover, and being part-owned by billionaire entrepreneur Warren...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Get Amped Tour
    Tesla Plans 5,000 Model S 'Test Drives' In 45 Days, Starting June 23

    This morning we told you about Tesla investor Steve Jurvetson, who, alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, became the first two official owners of a 2012 Tesla Model S. Up to this point, Tesla has been particularly guarded about giving test-drives of its all-electric sedan, with the only experiences to...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    Chevy Volt Plug-In Sales Surge In CA, Outsells 'Vette Too

    It's quite the morning for electric-car news today, but we didn't want to let one from yesterday slip by either. After a lumpy start to sales of the Chevrolet Volt, it appears that California dealers now can't keep the range-extended electric car in stock. According to an analysis of registration...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011
    First 2012 Tesla Model S Delivered To Earliest Depositor Steve Jurvetson (Video)

    Deliveries of the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan will officially begin on June 22. But the very first production Model S off the line has already been handed over to its new owner. It went to none other than venture capitalist and Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson, who is now driving it around...

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